When Viktor Skripnik started his work with his Werder players, the focus was clearly on the defence. "We must stabilise our defence," said the Werder coach back then as a short-term...
When Viktor Skripnik started his work with his Werder players, the focus was clearly on the defence. "We must stabilise our defence," said the Werder coach back then as a short-term...
When Viktor Skripnik started his work with his Werder players, the focus was clearly on the defence. "We must stabilise our defence," said the Werder coach back then as a short-term goal. Two weeks later, the Ukrainian said the defence is a positive as the Green-Whites have conceded just one goal in the last three competitive matches. The first part of the work is fulfilled but there is still a lot of work to be done.
For Skripnik, the consistency is an important component. In the three competitive matches since taking over as coach, the same four players have lined up in the back line, allowing for better coordination within the defence. Alejandro Galvez, who moved into the centre back position under Skripnik, has improved especially game by game. "Alejandro is a really good centre back who really gets a lot out of his positioning and is important for us setting up our game," said Skripnik. The 44-year-old coach sees the Spaniard as a "perfect complement" to Sebastian Prödl. On the right side, Theodor Gebre Selassie is really getting closer to his top form after his long-term injury. For the Werder coach, Gebre Selassie does a great job stabilising the back line.
Stability and consistency are also keys at the current moment. They are the foundation for Skripnik's next step. "We want to use the national team break and the test match against Odense (Friday 14 November 2014 at 5:30 p.m. on Platz 11 grounds) to continue to develop our game and continue to improve our deficits. And we have plenty of those," said Skripnik. There are two intensive weeks of training coming up for the Werder players before the North Derby at Hamburg.
